Indians make most of their lone hit

Thursday

Rittman managed just one hit, but it was the only one the Indians needed to squeak past Independence and into next week’s district tournament.

Mason Wilson drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the fifth, went to second on a bunt from Tony Ramsier, and Dylan Walsh followed with a single to score Wilson with the game’s lone run. Rittman hurler Kaleb Bauman made it stand up, finishing with a three-hit shutout, striking out eight and walking two.

The Indians will advance to the Medina District semifinals next Thursday against the winner of Friday’s game between Dalton and Mapleton.

Div. III Creston Sectional

Chippewa 5, Northwestern 4 (9)

A pair of aces were rocking and firing in Doylestown, but in the end, Chippewa hurler Gary Thonen had one round too many for Northwestern as he earned the win, striking out five. His opponent, Northwestern pitcher Spencer Garrison, also finished with five strikeouts as both hurlers went all nine innings in the Div. III sectional final.

Thonen also supplied a little muscle with a pair of doubles from the cleanup spot, while Zach Zahradnick and Cooper Davies both finished with two hits apiece.

Zev McBane went 4 for 4 and Jack Topovski banged out two hits for the Huskies, who scored twice in the top of the seventh to force extra innings.

Regular Season

West Holmes 6, Ashland 3

Brenden Bridenthal struck out three to earn the win and Kiowa Looney notched the save with one strikeout and West Holmes beat Ashland in Ohio Cardinal Conference action.

Kendrick Wagler led the Knights with three hits, including a double, while Shane Jones and Bridenthal each finished with two hits.

Softball

Hillsdale 12, Rittman 0

Having a plethora of talent is no doubt one of keys to Hillsdale's dominance in softball. It was on display as the Falcons cut the magic number to clinch a share of the Wayne County Athletic League title to just one with a combined perfect game from Sydney Long and Olivia Betson. Long went the first three to earn the win with six strikeouts and Betson charged through the last two and racked up five strikeouts.

Offensively, Kaylee Cline had two hits including a triple and drove in two runs, Emily Crossen banged out a pair of hits and had two RBIs and Sophie Goon tripled, doubled, drove in a run and scored twice for the Falcons. Long added a double and finished with two hits and Josie Rowland also smacked a pair.

Tuslaw 7, Sandy Valley 5

A four-spot in the fourth proved to be just enough as Tuslaw knocked off Sandy Valley in this non-conference battle.

The tablesetter, Kiera Frascone, set the tone going 4 for 4 from her leadoff spot for the Mustangs, while Lauren Grage, Breanna Cooper and Anissa Seese each collected two hits. Majestic Sales added a homer and Nadia Hoffman fanned eight to earn the win.

Northwest 8, Triway 4

Triway couldn't keep up with Northwest on the scoreboard as it fell to its PAC opponent.

The Titans were paced by Melanie Basinger, who had three hits with a double and scored twice, and Sydney Sherrieb blasted a homer and drove in two runs. Haley Harper added a pair of singles for Triway.

TENNIS

Div. II Wooster Sectional

Four locals — two singles players and a doubles team — advanced to districts out of the Div. II sectional that finished Thursday at The College of Wooster.

Both Orrville’s David Dilyard and Norwayne’s Anthony Tossatto lost their semifinal matches in singles — Dilyard in three sets (4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (4)) to Michael Chmura of Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and Tossatto in two 6-0 sets to eventual champ Christian Harwood of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Dilyard then defeated Tossatto 6-2, 6-0 in their third-place match and the Red Rider sophomore advances to the May 18-19 district at Akron’s Springfield Racket Club as the No. 3 seed, while Tossatto, a junior, will be the fourth seed.